Wireless enthusiasts have been repurposing satellite dishes for a couple years now. This summer the longest link ever was established over 125 miles using old 12 foot and 10 foot satellite dishes. A dish that big is usually overkill for most people and modern mini-dishes work just as well. The dish helps focus the radio waves onto a directional antenna feed. We’re building a biquad antenna feed because it offers very good performance and is pretty forgiving when it comes to assembly errors. Follow along as we assemble the feed, attach it to a DirecTV dish and test out its performance. Why? [...]

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As we know PTCL’s EVO (also called EVDO) service is out there, but reportedly it offers irregular coverage (besides Islamabad) – resulting many EVO customers returning their USB devices within 3 days. (BTW, PTCL allows you to return EVO device with-in 3 days, in case of no signals at your home/office, or if you are not satisfied with the service – though you won’t be given cash instantly, you will have to wait for a month before you get your amount back in form of cheque) Faisal Mehmood, has derived couple of mechanisms to increase signal strength of PTCL EVO device – following [...]

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Everyone has dreamt of being able to save the day by swooping in and helping that damsel in distress out, by plugging in that vital USB sound card when the sound fails on her laptop in the middle of an important product briefing. Haven’t they? Just me then? Daydream aside, the useful nugget of information we have to part with today, is that cheap throwaway USB headset you have lying at the bottom of a drawer can offer a useful life-enhancing function: working as a USB sound card. The fact is, to connect and work via the USB it has to offer the analogue to digital conversion done by a [...]

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Clean Filtration Technologies, maker of a self-cleaning, maintenance-free metal membrane used to process waste water and produce clean, healthy drinking water in high volumes, has brought in $3.55 million of a targeted $7.2 million round of equity and securities, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Saratoga, Calif., the company has not disclosed any investors. Its membrane, branded as the CFT Turboclone, is supposedly cheaper to make and install, lowering the overall cost of filtration systems that have been proven to last longer without regular maintenance than older filtration systems, [...]

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InSite Medical Technologies, maker of a medical device used to safely deliver epidural anesthesia during childbirth and other procedures, has just brought in $1.06 million of an expected $2.08 million round of equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Saratoga, Calif., the company has no information on its web site, but a Stanford newsletter reports that it also received a $100,000 award from the National Science Foundation.

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The Foundry has just brought in $3 million in equity to finance a stealthy new company known only as Foundry Newco XII for now, according to a filing with the SEC. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based incubator focuses almost exclusively on medical and biotech ventures, so it’s not a stretch to assume this new entity falls into that category. It is also backed by Morgenthaler Ventures, Split Rock Partners and Domain Associates.

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BuyWithMe uses social networking to aggregate large groups of buyers to make purchases in bulk — thereby lowering prices at major retailers. It has just raised $5.5 million in first-round capital to scale its user base and forge more vendor partnerships. The service also sends out email alerts to users calling their attention to sales and other deals in their local areas (right now it only operates in Boston, Washington, D.C., and San Diego). Based in Boston, the company received the recent financing from Matrix Partners. It was previously backed by family and friends.

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Pulmonx, maker of medical devices used to treat emphysema and other chronic respiratory disorders, has raised $11.5 million in options, warrants and debt financing, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Redwood City, Calif., the company is backed by De Novo Ventures, Latterell Venture Partners, MedVenture Associates and Montreux Equity Partners. It previously raised $20 million in May 2007 and a $3 million bridge round in August 2008.

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Trident Capital, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm known for backing travel planner site Kayak, thin-film solar maker Xunlight, and wireless provider AirTight Networks, has filed with the SEC to raise a $400 million venture capital fund, its seventh. Trident has a very diverse portfolio, including startups in cleantech, enterprise software, health care software, consumer internet services, payment systems and wireless providers. The firm was a bigger deal during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, winning big with investments in MapQuest, iRobot (maker of the Roomba vacuum cleaner which went public [...]

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Aviir, maker of diagnostic systems used to detect heart conditions, has raised $4.2 million in equity, debt, options, warrants and securities, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the company is backed by Bay City Capital, Aberdare Ventures and New Leaf Venture Partners. It previously raised $12.3 million.

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